Movie Night - Unstoppable

Friday, November 19th, Liz and I went to the movies to watch Unstoppable feat. Denzel Washington and some other hottie I can't remember the name of. Great movie, lot's of suspense and drama. This is the outfit I wore.

 

 Purple Scoop Neck Top (Actually a Dress) - JCP

Faux Snake Skin Leggings - Torrid

Mid Calf Boots - Ross

Black Cardigan - Ross

Black Sequins Hat & Purple Scarf - Ross

 

The leggins are very thin, therefore I had to wear some black shorts underneath, almost like a spanx. They offer my legs more support and prevent cellulite and my thunder thighs from coming through the thin leggings. The purple top I wore is actually a dress I picked up at JCP on Clearance a few months ago. I simply shurgged it up a bit and used it as a top. Dont know if I'd use it any other way as it would be too skimpy and my behind would probably be hanging out for the world to see. Completed the outfit with a scarf and hat as it was a rainy cool night and this helped keep me nice and warm.

Goodwill Finds

As you may know I am a big bargain shopper. I try and find deals left and right and get more bang for my buck. Thrift shops like Goodwill and consingment shops are not to be left behind or ignored. Here are a few finds I found a while back and wanted to share. A lot of vintage items and for super cheap. I really enjoy shopping at thrifts because of all the ideas I gather in my mind, the alterations that can be done and the outfits than can be put together.

Bought these amazing gold toned shades. Yes, they're a little beat up and have minor scratches here and there, but who doesn't scratch their glasses anyway. They look a lot more expensive than they are and adds a lot of glam to any outfit. These are some of my favorite shades and they're hot!

Found these wonderful vintage earrings. Most are clip ons and the rest are regular pin earrings. I like to sanitize my earrings before wearing them just to be on the safe side considering they were amongst a bunch of other earrings and with anything used, it's always best to wash/sanitize before using it yourself.

I bought these shoes for five dollars. The shoes are BRAND SPANKING NEW. Never been used, the bottom soles have absolutely no scratches and no signs of use.  They're very vintage and high class or sophisticated looking lol. I found some earrings to match so I'm defintely looking forward to putting an old vintage glam outfit together and make use of these shoes and earrings.

Gift From Grace

I'm Wearing:

Beautiful Ruffled Top given to me by Grace

White Tank Underneath Top - Wal*Mart

Skinny Washed Out Jeans by Red Wind - Ross

Cranberry / Wine Boots by a.n.a (a new approach) -JCP

Brown Faux Leather Jacket by a.n.a - JCP

Shoe Haul - UrbanOg.com

As I mentioned in my previous post, I did some online shoe shopping a little over a week ago. I asked my friends on Facebook for some online shops and Urban Original was the second online shop I decided to shop on after my purchase at ShoeDazzle.

Urban Original is quite like Cutesygirl and Amiclubwear. I've seen both sites and although I haven't shopped at either, Urban Original carried a lot of the shoes that Cutesygirl and Amiclubwear carried with more competitive prices. I leaned more toward UrbanOg after hearing a few good reviews from some friends on FB and some not so good ones about Cutesygirl and AmiClubwear although I'll have to be the judge of that myself. In the meantime, UrbanOg offered more styles to my liking and at better prices.

PRICES: I found Urban original to have very competitive prices. Amazing deals I should say. I found a lot of shoes on this site that I had previously seen at my local Shiek inside the mall for less than half the price. I was immediately sold!  

SHIPPING:  I placed my order on Friday, November 19th and received Monday, Novemeber 23rd along with my ShoeDazzle order. Due to the holiday weekend, shipping was delayed. However, if it wasn't for the holidays I could have received my item on Wednesday, November 23rd, just 5 days of placing my order. Shipping was $9.99 for UPS ground shipping. UrbanOg sends you a notification via email with your shipping and tracking information. I thought the shipping was a smooth process, quick shipping had the holiday not affected the transit time.

HANDLING: My shoes arrived safe and sound and damage free. The packaging was quite simple. All three boxes were placed in a bigger box and shipped off. No extra padding of any kind so the shoes were tossed around some before finally getting home. Each shoe box contained the usual, shoe stuffing, and a tissue to prevent any scratching of surfaces from one shoe to the other incase any toss up occurred. Shoe boxes were simple carton boxes and basic. Overall, the conidtion my shoes arrived in was fine, the extra padding and care isn't extremely necessary but it does make the experience a whole lot different.

COMMUNICATION: After placing my order, UrbanOg contacted me with a concern on one of my orders. One of the shoes (ivory booties) had a small manufacturing imperfection. It was a small stain that almost looked like a burn and asked if I'd like to proceed with  my order or cancel the order on that particular shoe. They offered me an additional 15% off and asked if I accepted the shoe that it would be a final sale and would not be eligible for refund or exchange. They sent me pictures of the damage and I felt the damage wasn't so significant and highly noticable so I took my additional 15% off and proceeded with my order.  This is the first time I'm contacted about a problem like this and I must say the experience was great. They took pictures of the damage rather than just telling me what the problem was. I thought that was great on their part and defintely ensured I'd be completely satisfied with  my order. How many online businesses do that? I know i've had experiences before with other vendors who sell me an item that has a problem and they don't bother notifiying me about it which creates a hassle when you want to return or exchange an item.

OVERALL EXPERIENCE:  My overall experience with Urban Original was a great one.  I am defintely coming back to this site and making future purchases. The shipping was quick, despite the lag over the holidays, the prices are very competitive and amazing! I signed up for their notifications and also used a discount code for an additional 20% off my entire puchase. This is a great site, loyal to its customers with ensuring their satisfaction, communicating any problems with more than just words is awesome. I already told my sister about this site and she plans on making some purchases as well. Defintely a place to shop and until I have a bad experience (which I hope I never do) I will continue shopping here and raving about how awesome it is. The site is very easy to use, offering more than just shoes. You can sort shoes by size, color, heel height, type and so much more. Overall an amazing site to shop offering shoes, handbags, accessories, beauty products and more. Defintely a place to check out.

THE SHOES

Qupid System-157 Snake Chain Pump $15.30

These Snake skin shoes were so hot! I remember seeing them at my local mall for almost 40 dollars! I jumped on the deal as soon as I saw the price! These are extremely comfortable considering the chunky platform the shoes rest on. The heel is very high, maybe 4 inches or so but as I've mentioned, the platform makes walking very easy. I did buy these shoes in particular in a size 8 1/2 because when I tried them on at the mall, a size 8 was too snug on my feet. The 8 1/2 fit perfectly. They offer a variety of colors, I purchased mine in brown because I already have so many black shoes and brown is just as versatile as Black and the gold chains stood out more than the silver chains on black.



Qupid Politic-78 Pointy Toe Bootie $23.50

 These are the booties that had a small defect. The defect wasn't noticable, just s very light stain on the side of the bootie and a tiny stain on the heel. Because of this defect, I received an additional 15% off on the booties. These are in a size 8 and they fit perfectly. These I know will be a bit more tiresome because the heel is high and the shoes are very flat on the bottom so it's almost as if you were walking around on your tippy toes all day. To make these more comfortable and less tiresome, I simply add some comfortable soles inside and wala!

Wild Diva Starcy-30 Buckled Thigh High Boot $25.90

Finally, I bought these Thigh High Boots, which are not necessarily thigh high, more like right above the knee. Regardless, I love the detailing of the buckles on the sides and the fact that they are flat making them more easy to walk in and more of a casual boot you can use on a daily basis now that winter is rolling in. The only thing I didn't like about the boots was that they didn't have a zipper on the side making it a harder to slip them on, specially if you have broader calves and or legs. Not much of a big deal for me as I didn't have much problem getting them on, but a zipper on the side always makes it easier and faster to get them on and off.

PROS:

• GREAT Customer Service
• Amazing Deals
• Great additioinal discount codes offered
• Amazing selection
• User friendly website
• Great Communication
• Quick delivery
• International Shipping available

CONS:

• Shipping will cost you, unless you have a Free Shipping code, or buy a certain amount
• Internationl sales are Final Sale
• Other than the shoes, I found everything else to be quite pricey
• 15% Restocking fee if Free Shipping was issued and you decide to do a return or exchange
• Items under $10 are Final Sale
•  All accessories, swimwear, beauty/cosmetic, costumes, lingerie, intimates are Final Sale so choose wisely
• 20% Restocking Fee if package doesnt get picked up or delivered-So if no one is home to receive your package and gets returned you are screwed
• 30% Restocking Fee for refused packages. So if you thought refusing a package would save you from returning it, you're even more screwed

Shoedazzle Review - Pros & Cons

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HOW IT WORKS: I joined ShoeDazzle November 19th. I was on Facebook and asked about online shoe shops in a post. I got a lot of feedback and checked out a few sites, one of them being shoedazzle. Incase you're unaware, Kim Kardashian is the Co-Founder of the site. The way it works is after signing up, you take a "style profile". You are asked to pick different styles from an assortment of pictures of different models on runways that best appeal to you and what you would wear. At the end of the style profile the "stylists" pick out shoes based on your choices and preferences and you are given a selection to which you end up choosing your favorite pick. Soon after you are, you are given a "showroom" in which stylists pick out the top 5 shoes, handbags, and jewelry pieces you might like.  The style service is 40 bucks a month ($39.95). You can cancel your membership at anytime, you are not obligated to purchase shoes each month and you are also given the option to buy other merchandise like jewelry or handbags. This is just my overview of the whole process, you can read more about how it works here.

SIGN UP PERKS: The instant you join, you are offered 50% off discount on your first pair of shoes along with free shipping. The only downside to the 50% off deal is you have to place the order the day of, meaning you sign up today, your coupon is only valid today, so therefore, if you're unsure or dont have 20 bucks to spare, I suggest you hold off and sign up when you are ready to make a purchase. I personally jumped on the deal.

SHIPPING: I placed my order on Friday November 19th, and received Monday, November 29th. 10 Days later. I was supposed to receive my packages Wednesday November 23rd, but given I placed my order during a Holiday week, delivery times got all messed up and shipping lagged. I am defintely not upset by this, as placing orders during holidays, things like this are bound to happen. I thought the delivery process was great either way. My order was nicely packaged and communication was awesome every step of the way from placing my order, to email notifications with tracking and shipping information. Included in your package delivery is a return label incase you need to exchange your shoes for a different size, pair, or completely different item.

HANDLING & CARE: When I received my shoes they were very nicely packaged! Extremely cared for and very well taken care of. Each shoe had a plastic protector over it, had the usual tissue stuffing to help keep the shoes shape and avoid any bending or denting.  I suppose all shoes are delivered in a pink box that can be used as the storage box to keep your shoes. Each box has eyelet hole in which you can use your finger to hook into and slide the shoes from out the box. You are also given a baggie in which you can place your shoes for further protection from dust collection. I have to say, shoedazzle by far has the best shipping and handling I have ever experienced. I was very pleased with the care of my shoes as I personally like to take good care of them and other companies I've ordered from simply throw a box inside another box and off they go, often times by the time the shoes reach you, they are bent or slightly damaged.

OVERALL EXPERIENCE: The first time experience was a great one. I got an amazing deal, packaging and delivery was great and I was 100% completely satisified. Will I order again? Most likely. Although I beleive 40 dollars for a pair of shoes from ShoeDazzle can be quite pricey, I know I am defintely getting my moneys worth. I know I can find similar if not the same shoes elsewhere, but I really got great communication and a great experience shopping through ShoeDazzle. If I purchase again, I'd only purchase shoes as I beleive the 40 dollars for a handbag is ridiculous and not to mention the jewelry! Overall, I am one happy customer, but will defintely be pushing that "Skip the Month" button a few times before I decide to make another purchase. I would defintely recommend this to anyone who wants to try it out, given you are offered a 50% off discount on yoru first purchase and that's a great deal for an amazing experience and highly taken care of shoes. And now I leave you with a list with my personal pros and cons on ShoeDazzle.

PROS:

• Easy fool proof sign up process
• Great sign up deal
• Quick delivery
• Free Shipping
• Great handling (within US Only)
• No purchasing obligation
• Cancel anytime
• Great line of communication
• Refer-a-Friend Program (earn a credit after 3 of your friends make a purchase)

CONS:

• Can be a little expensive
• You can only skip the month within the first 5 days of the month, so if you forget, you're screwed.
• Showroom selections may not always be to your liking
• If you do your research properly, you can find many shoes on differente sites for more than 1/2 off! Do your homework
• No refunds. You can return an item and exhcange it for another or receive a credit
• 5.95 Restocking Fee If you decide the item isn't for you and choose to return it

Let me know about your shoe experience with ShoeDazzle!